Mechanical digging device

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a mechanical digging device ( 1 ) with a handle-like support ( 2 ), comprising a digging part ( 4 ) near its bottom end ( 3 ) and two grip arms ( 6 ) on its upper end ( 5 ), a support part ( 7 ) embodied on the bottom end ( 3 ) of said support ( 2 ) and a rotating device mounted on the support ( 2 ) and connected to the digging part ( 4 ) for laterally tilting the material on the digging part ( 4 ). According to the invention, the rotating device ( 9 ) penetrates the support ( 2 ) and the longitudinal axis ( 11 ) of the rotating device ( 9 ) extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the digging part ( 4 ).

The invention relates to a mechanical digging device as claimed in thepreamble of patent claim 1.

The term “digging device” used here comprises all devices which aresuitable and can be used for digging or turning over earth inparticular.

DE-U1-298 16 690 discloses an add-on handle for spades or forks foreasier handling when tilling ground. By means of the add-on handle, itis possible for the person to lift and turn the spade, followinginsertion into the ground, while standing in an upright position.

DE-U1-298 02 570, U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,049, FR-A12 773 663, GB 629 327,U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,332 and GB-619 410 disclose gardening devices,mostly in the form of spades, which are equipped with an additionallift-and-tilt device. By means of the latter device, the spade can bewithdrawn with the material located on the spade blade and at the sametime lifted up or pivoted up about a support point located at thebottom, so that the task is made easier with such a device. From the twolast-mentioned documents, it is also known to provide the device withone or more rollers.

DE-375 247, FR-A1-2 676 324, FR-980 992 and FR-1 306 074 disclosemechanical digging devices in which it is likewise possible for theperson using the device to work in an upright or at least almost uprightposition. By means of these devices, digging, lifting and turning ortipping-off the raised material is possible by rotating the digging partof the device.

A mechanical digging device as claimed in the preamble of patent claim 1is known from DE-848 117. In this device, the rotating device for thedigging part is mounted pivotably on the support of the device. In orderto tip off the material located on the digging part, the rotating deviceis pivoted together with the digging part and at the same time rotated,so that the material located on the digging part falls off the latterand onto the ground.

It is an object of the invention to provide a mechanical digging deviceof the type mentioned above which is of simpler design and is easier tooperate.

According to the invention, the rotating device is fitted to the supportat a fixed location. As a result, it is easier to attach the rotatingdevice and the service life thereof is increased. Moreover, actuation ofthe rotating device is made easier since in order to trigger a tiltingmovement it need simply be rotated and does not need to be pivoted onthe support at the same time.

Advantageously, the rotating device passes through the support and thelongitudinal axis of the rotating device runs parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the digging part. The rotating device is thus heldin a secure and stable manner in all operating states, and in order totip off the earth lying on the digging part all that is required is asimple rotational movement about an essentially horizontal axis.

Embodiments of the subject matter of the invention will be explained inmore detail below with reference to the drawing, wherein all thefeatures that are described and/or shown in the drawing form the subjectmatter of the present invention individually or in any desiredcombination, regardless of how they are combined or relate to oneanother in the claims. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of a mechanical digging device;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic partial side view of an actuating mechanism ofthe device in the rest position from the other side compared to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the actuating mechanism of FIG. 2 inthe working position;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic partial plan view of the digging device; and

FIG. 5 shows a schematic side view of a scooter connected to the diggingdevice.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a mechanical digging device 1 in side view.

The digging device 1 has a handle-like support 2 which is designed forexample in the form of a rectangular tube. The support 2 has near itslower end 3 a digging part 4 and at its upper end 5 two grip arms 6.Furthermore, the support 2 has at its lower end 3 a support part 7 bymeans of which the digging device 1 stands on the ground 8 in theposition shown in FIG. 1.

Furthermore, the digging device has a rotating device 9 which is held onthe support 2 and is connected to the digging part 4, which rotatingdevice is likewise arranged in the lower part of the support 2 and isdesigned for laterally tipping off a material 10 located on the diggingpart 4 (cf. FIG. 2).

According to the invention, the rotating device 9 is fitted to thesupport 2 at a fixed location. As shown in FIG. 1, the rotating device 9passes through the support 2 such that the longitudinal axis 11 of therotating device 9 runs approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis12 of the digging part 4.

The rotating device 9 is designed as a pivot bearing 13 comprising acylindrical tube 14 and a hinge pin 15 which passes through the tube 14.Sleeves 18, 19 are pushed onto the front end 16 of the hinge pin 15 andthe rear end 17 of the hinge pin 15 in a manner fixed against rotation,so that no relative movement is possible between the hinge pin 15 andthe sleeves 18, 19. The front end 16 of the hinge pin 15 is connectedvia the sleeve 18 and a retaining plate 20 to the digging part 4,whereas the rear end 17 of the hinge pin 15 is connected via the sleeve19 to an actuating mechanism 21 fitted to the support 2. As shown inFIGS. 1 to 3 and 5, the front end 16 of the hinge pin 15 and the support2 enclose an angle 22 of preferably about 110°. For the sake of betterclarity, said angle is shown only in FIG. 2.

The actuating mechanism 21 is shown more specifically in FIGS. 1 and 3and comprises a foot pedal 23 fitted to the support 2, which foot pedalis connected via a rod assembly 24 to the rear end 17 of the hinge pin15. The foot pedal 23 is mounted rotatably on a pivot arm 26 via a firstbearing spindle 25, which pivot arm has a stop 27 for the foot pedal 23near the first bearing spindle 25. The pivot arm 26 is in turn mountedrotatably on a support lever 29 by means of a pivot spindle 28, whichsupport lever is connected fixedly to the support 2. The longitudinalaxis of the support lever 28 runs approximately parallel to thelongitudinal axis 11 of the rotating device 9.

At its outer free end, the support lever 29 has a stop 31 for the pivotarm 26. The pivot spindle 28 is therefore arranged on the support lever29 between the end fixed to the support 2 and the outer free end 30.

As shown by a comparison between the diagrams of FIG. 1 on the one handand of FIGS. 2 and 3 on the other hand, the foot pedal 23 is mountedsuch that it can pivot up on the support 2, wherein according to onepreferred embodiment of the invention the pivot spindle 28 of the footpedal 23 coincides with a second bearing spindle 33 for the rod assembly24 which is fixed at the front end 32 of the foot pedal 23.

The rod assembly 24 has two ball-and-socket joints 34, 35, wherein asshown in FIG. 2 the upper ball-and-socket joint 34 is connectedrotatably to the front end 32 of the foot pedal 23 and forms the secondbearing spindle 33 and wherein the lower ball-and-socket joint in FIG. 2is fixed to the sleeve 19.

The digging part 4 can thus be moved, by means of the rotating device 9and the actuating mechanism 21, from its working position shown in FIGS.1 and 2 into a tilted position rotated through preferably 110° (cf. FIG.3), and vice versa, in order to laterally tip off the material 10located on the digging part 4.

To do this, a force is exerted by the foot on a laterally protruding endpiece 37 of the foot pedal 23 in FIG. 2, in the direction of arrow A. Asa result, the foot pedal 23 pivots in the counterclockwise directionabout the first bearing spindle 25, whereupon the front end 32 of thefoot pedal 23 pivots upwards in the direction of arrow B so that ascissors-like structure is produced between the front section of thefoot pedal 23 on the one hand and the pivot arm 26 and the support lever29 on the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3. By virtue of the upwardpivoting of the front end 32 of the foot pedal 23, the rod assembly 24with the ball-and-socket joints 34, 35 is also moved upwards, as aresult of which the sleeve 19 is likewise rotated, via the short lever36, in the counterclockwise direction shown by arrow C. As a result, thedigging part 4 is finally rotated from its working position shown inFIG. 2 to its tilted position shown in FIG. 3, so that the raisedmaterial 10 falls off the digging part 4 and onto the ground.

In the plan view shown in FIG. 4, the actuating mechanism 21 is shown indashed line, and it can be seen that the actuating mechanism extendsobliquely away from the support 2 towards the back right, so that theprotruding end piece 37 of the foot pedal 23 can be easily pressed downby the foot. By virtue of the oblique arrangement of the actuatingmechanism, it is possible for the entire digging device 1 to be pushedalong over the ground 8 in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 4 by meansof the support part 7 without the person operating the device hittinghis right leg against the actuating mechanism during the forwardmovement.

As shown in FIG. 3, an upper bellcrank 38 is fixed to the front sleeve18, on which bellcrank one end of a tension spring 39 (shown only indashed line in FIG. 3) is suspended. The other end of the tension spring39 is suspended on a lower bellcrank 40, which is fixedly connected tothe lower end 3 of the support 2. As a result of the spring force of thetension spring 39, the digging part 4 automatically returns from itstilted position shown in FIG. 3 to its working position shown in FIG. 2,provided that no force continues to be exerted on the foot pedal 23 inthe direction of arrow A. As a result of the spring force of the tensionspring 39, the rotating device 9 is rotated in the clockwise direction,that is to say counter to the arrow C, whereupon the short lever 36pivots downwards and thereby the rod assembly 24 and the front end 32 ofthe foot pedal are also moved downwards back into the working positionshown in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 1, a stop device 41 comprising a stop 42 fixed to the tube 14and a stop mandrel 43 fixed to the short lever 36 is formed on therotating device 9. In the working position shown in FIG. 1, the stopmandrel 43 bears against the right side of the stop 42, so that thedigging part 4 is securely held in its working position on account ofthe force of the tension spring 39. It can be seen that that the diggingpart 4 is prestressed into its working position by means of the tensionspring 39 and the stop device 41. For the sake of better clarity, thestop device 41 is not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Likewise, the tensionspring together with the bellcrank are not shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the support part 7 is a roller 44 or cylindermounted rotatably at the lower end 3 of the support 2, which roller orcylinder is fixedly connected to the support 2 via a forked lever 45. Inthe region of the point of connection between the lower end 3 of thesupport 2 and the forked lever 45 there is a foot lever 46 whichprotrudes to the left from the side of the support and can be used tomake the digging part 4 pass into the ground 8.

FIG. 4 schematically shows a partial plan view of the digging device. Itcan be seen that the two grip arms 6 are designed as handlebars and arefixed in a height-adjustable manner on the support 2. For this purpose,the grip arm 6 has a left handle arm 47 and a right handle arm 48, eachhaving protruding handles 49, 50 which enclose an angle 51 ofapproximately between 100° and 120° with their respective handle arm 47,48.

In the diagram shown in FIG. 4, the handle arms 47, 48 are designed tobe bent. However, it is also possible to design the handle arms in eachcase to be angled with a front section that points towards the support 2and a rear section that points towards the respective handle, whereinthe angle 52 enclosed by the sections is approximately 160°.

The upper end 5 of the support 2 is angled forwards as shown in FIGS. 1and 4. The grip 6 is fastened adjustably on an angled piece 53. As shownin FIG. 4, the angled piece 53 is a rectangular piece of tube, on therear side surfaces of which fixing plates 54, 55 extend, said fixingplates in each case having a bore 56 with an inner thread. On the frontside surfaces of the angled piece 53 there are a number of bores 63 (cf.FIG. 1), in which a pin 57 of a front, plate-shaped end section 58 ofeach handle arm 47, 48 engages. In addition, each front end section ofthe handle arms has a through-bore 59.

In order to fix each handle arm to the angled piece 53, there isfurthermore provided in each case a fixing device 60 in the form of abolt 61 with a wheel 62 (cf. FIG. 1). The bolt 61 can in each case bepushed through the through-bore 59 of the handle arm and, once the pin57 of each handle arm has been inserted into one of the bores 63 of theangled piece, be screwed to the bore 56 with the inner thread, so thateach handle arm 47, 48 is fixedly, but releasably and adjustably,connected to the angled piece 53 of the support 2. It is clear that thebores 63, as shown in FIG. 1, are arranged in a part-circle around thebore 56 on the angled piece.

One preferred development of the mechanical digging device 1 accordingto the invention is shown in a schematic side view in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the support 2 has, near to its lower end 3, afurther fixing device 64 for attaching a scooter 65. This further fixingdevice 64 is preferably designed in the form of a bore 66 that passesthrough the support 2 and a nut-and-bolt connection 67, wherein the boltcan be screwed into a nut 68 which is permanently fixed to one side (inFIG. 2 the right-hand side) of the support 2. In the diagram shown inFIG. 3, the nut 68 fixed to the support is omitted for the sake ofbetter clarity. Only the bore 66 is provided here.

The further fixing device 64 comprises a half-shell which is not shownin any more detail and in the position shown in FIG. 5 securely engagesaround a section of the support 2 when the nut-and-bolt connection 67 isscrewed in. It is clear that, when said connection 67 is released, thedigging device 1 can be detached from the scooter 65.

The scooter 65 is provided in a conventional manner with a front bar 69,which is connected via a connecting bar 70 to the further fixing device64, and a front wheel fork 71. Connected to the rear of the front bar 69is a downwardly directed retaining bar 72 and connected to the latter isa horizontal foot board 73 which terminates in a rear wheel fork 74.Within the front wheel fork 71 and the rear wheel fork 74 there is ineach case a wheel or tire 75 which is mounted rotatably in therespective fork.

It is clear that the front bar 69 allows a rotatable mounting of thefront wheel fork 79. From the diagram shown in FIG. 5 it can be seenthat, while the digging device 1 is connected to the scooter 65 by meansof the further fixing device 64, the support 2 of the device 1 isdesigned and arranged as the steering rod and the two grip arms 6 of thedevice 1 are designed and arranged as the handlebars of the scooter 65.

As shown merely schematically in FIG. 3, the digging part 4 is providedon its left side 76 with a high edge 77. In the case of a digging partof conventional size, the height of the edge 77 is about 2 cm. Thisraised edge means that the material located on the digging part remainson the digging part for as long as possible in the event of a rotatingor tilting movement, that is to say when moving the digging part fromits working position to its tilted position, and then is tipped off thedigging part as a whole, so to speak.

The digging part 4 may be designed in the form of a shovel shown inFIGS. 2 to 3 and 5 or else in the form of a fork provided with variousprongs.

The mechanical digging device 1 according to the invention can beoperated as follows.

Firstly, the digging part 4 is pushed into the ground 8 as in the caseof a conventional spade, in that firstly the support 2 is pivotedforwards such that the digging part 4 can be inserted into the ground atthe desired angle. The insertion of the digging part 4 into the groundtakes place as follows: the hands of the person using the device arelocated on the protruding handles 49, 50 of the two grip arms 6 and theleft foot is pressed firmly on the foot lever 46. In another embodiment(not shown), the foot lever 46 may also be omitted. In this case, thedigging part 4 is pressed into the ground by placing for example theleft foot on the upper edge of the digging part.

The digging part 4 can be inserted into the ground 8 until the supportpart 7 in the form of the roller 44 rests on the ground 8. In thisposition, the support 2 projects obliquely forwards; the arms of theperson operating the device are stretched upwards and forwards.

In a second step, the entire device is pivoted rearwards about the hingepin of the support part 7, wherein a lever arm continuing thelongitudinal support 2 and the relatively widely projecting grip arms 6is available for this pivoting movement. In the opposite direction, thedigging part 4 is arranged relatively close to the support part 7. Usinga simple pivoting movement, in which the grip arms 6 are pulledbackwards, that is to say towards the person's body (or more preciselyon either side of the body), the support part 7 rests on the ground 8,so that it is possible to lift the digging part 4 together with thematerial that has been dug. During this pivoting movement, the personoperating the device moves his arms from the position in which they arestretched upwards and forwards into a lower position in which they lieon either side of his body, without it being necessary to bend his back.The arms and hands which are stretched downwards on both sides thusprovide the necessary counterforce when pressing the foot pedal. Thearms and hands which are stretched downwards on both sides are thendrawn up until both the grip arms come into the ground position on bothsides of the body (with arms stretched downwards), without it beingnecessary to bend one's back. At the end of this second step, thedigging device is in a position in which it is slightly pivotedbackwards compared to FIG. 1, with the digging part 4 in anapproximately horizontal position.

In a third and final step, the actuating mechanism 21 is used bypressing down on the foot pedal 23 and pivoting the rotating device 9and hence the digging part 4 in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 2. As aresult, the device is moved from its working position shown in FIG. 2 toits tilted position shown in FIG. 3, by means of which the materiallocated on the digging part is tipped off the digging part. Thistipping-off is carried out for example at the place where the materialwas previously lifted by the digging process.

The device according to the invention is then moved slightly backwards,that is to say counter to the direction of arrow D, wherein the roller44 rolls over the ground 8. The next digging or turning-over operationthen begins.

It is clear that a height adjustment of the grip arms 6 and hence anadaptation of the position of the grip arms to the person operating thedevice is possible by means of the fixing device 60 described above.

In order to attach the digging device 1 to the scooter 65, thenut-and-bolt connection 67 is fixed to the lower end 3 of the support 2by means of the further fixing device 64. In the process, the bolt ofsaid connection is pushed through the bore 66 of the support and screwedinto the nut 68 (cf. FIG. 2). The combination of mechanical diggingdevice 1 and scooter 65 can then be used like a normal scooter, whereinit is also possible to attach items of luggage to the digging part 4 orto provide the digging part 4 with rubber padding in order to lessen therisk of injuries to other people.

According to a further embodiment which is shown only schematically inFIG. 1, the retaining plate 20 is designed such that the digging part 4is releasably connected to the support 2. For this purpose, achange-over device 78 (shown schematically) is provided on the retainingplate 20. By means of this changeover device 78, the digging part 4 isdesigned such that it can be removed. The digging part 4 can also befolded up. For shipment, for example, it is more practical simply tofold the digging part 4 up rather than remove it. For this reason, thedigging part 4 is removed at most when for example the digging shovel isreplaced by a fork or when the device is used only for the scooter.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the actuating mechanism 21 can be movedfrom the rest position shown in FIG. 2 to the working position shown inFIG. 1. Moreover, as mentioned above, the handle arms 47, 48 of the twogrip arms 6 may be pivoted away by means of an easily releasable screwor removed completely from the support 2 so that the device according tothe invention takes up only a small volume in the folded state.

A mechanical digging device is thus provided which is designed in asimple manner and is easy to operate.

1-11. (canceled)
 12. A mechanical digging device comprising ahandle-like support which near its lower end has a digging part and atits upper end has grip arms, a support part made at the lower end of thesupport and a rotating device which is held on the support and isconnected to the digging part, wherein the rotating device is fitted tothe support at a fixed location.
 13. The digging device as claimed inclaim 12, wherein the rotating device passes through the support and thelongitudinal axis of the rotating device runs parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the digging part.
 14. The digging device as claimedin claim 12, wherein the rotating device is a pivot bearing, the hingepin of which is connected at its front end to the digging part and atits rear end to an actuating mechanism fixed to the support.
 15. Thedigging device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the front end of thehinge pin and the support enclose an angle of preferably 110°.
 16. Thedigging device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the actuating mechanismhas a foot pedal fixed to the support, which foot pedal is connected viaa rod assembly to the rear end of the hinge pin.
 17. The digging deviceas claimed in claim 16, wherein the foot pedal is mounted such that itcan pivot up on the support and the pivot spindle of the foot pedal iscoincident with a bearing spindle of the rod assembly which is fixed tothe foot pedal.
 18. The digging device as claimed in claim 14, whereinthe digging part can be moved, by means of the rotating device and theactuating mechanism, from its working position into a tilted positionrotated through preferably 110°, and vice versa, in order to laterallytip off a material located on the digging part, and the digging part isprestressed into its working position by means of a spring and a stopdevice.
 19. The digging device as claimed in claim 12, wherein thesupport part is a roller or cylinder which is mounted rotatably at thelower end of the support.
 20. The digging device as claimed in claim 12,wherein the grip arms are designed as handlebars and are fixed in aheight-adjustable manner on the support.
 21. The digging device asclaimed in claim 12, wherein the support has, at its lower end, a fixingdevice for attaching a scooter, which fixing device preferably comprisesa bore passing through the support and a nut-and-bolt connection. 22.The digging device as claimed in claim 21, wherein when a scooter isconnected to the digging device, the support of the device is designedand arranged as the steering rod and the grip arms of the device aredesigned as the handlebars of the scooter.
 23. The digging device asclaimed in claim 13, wherein the rotating device is a pivot bearing, thehinge pin of which is connected at its front end to the digging part andat its rear end to an actuating mechanism fixed to the support.
 24. Thedigging device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the actuating mechanismhas a foot pedal fixed to the support, which foot pedal is connected viaa rod assembly to the rear end of the hinge pin.
 25. The digging deviceas claimed in claim 15, wherein the digging part can be moved, by meansof the rotating device and the actuating mechanism, from its workingposition into a tilted position rotated through preferably 110°, andvice versa, in order to laterally tip off a material located on thedigging part, and the digging part is prestressed into its workingposition by means of a spring and a stop device.
 26. The digging deviceas claimed in claim 16, wherein the digging part can be moved, by meansof the rotating device and the actuating mechanism, from its workingposition into a tilted position rotated through preferably 110°, andvice versa, in order to laterally tip off a material located on thedigging part, and the digging part is prestressed into its workingposition by means of a spring and a stop device.
 27. The digging deviceas claimed in claim 17, wherein the digging part can be moved, by meansof the rotating device and the actuating mechanism, from its workingposition into a tilted position rotated through preferably 110°, andvice versa, in order to laterally tip off a material located on thedigging part, and the digging part is prestressed into its workingposition by means of a spring and a stop device.